Kapow! Babywearing with the Snugiwrap Mei Tai

Steph from Snugiwraps sent me the coolest Mei Tai a little while ago. It has cartoon Whams, Bams, and Kapows all over it. I get comments on it every time I pop Juno in.

It has been interesting getting used to a Mei Tai after my long history with wraps and recently the Ergo. I am absolutely convinced that your back and core muscles adapt to support whatever baby carrier you decide to roll with which is why it is tricky to trial something and then tell everyone your decision. For example, after a year of using a long wrap with Ramona I tried my friend’s Ergo at a festival and found it immensely uncomfortable. However, I found a second hand one for a snip in Germany last summer and began using it with 6 month old Juno and totally fell in love with the ease of it and found it WELL comfty. Bizarre, eh?

The Mei Tai is sort of inbetween a wrap and a buckle Soft Structure Carrier like the Ergo. It has the super flexible and snuggly material of a wrap but doesn’t require quite as much demo watching on Youtube as a wrap! (I spent the first three months of Ramona’s life wrangling with my wrap and her limbs whilst trying to copy winsome hippy mamas on Youtube!)

Snugiwraps Sent me a Classic Mei Tai – although they have a huge range of different options.

Here is what I loved:
I absolutely love that you can hand pick your fabric from literally HUNDREDS of designs. Sometimes baby wearing can seem a little….earthy…. so being able to choose a fabric that really fits with your existing style is a massive bonus.

I also love that it is affordable. One of the most affordable carriers out there, a quick google tells me. They have Epic sales too – you don’t get to choose your fabric in the same way but you can save a lot of money.

I love that they are hand made in the UK, which makes them completely above board in terms of labour standards.

I love the hoods you can buy as an addition. A hood with a Mei Tai is an absolute MUST for being hands free. When they fall asleep you just clip up the poppers and their little heads won’t nod about. They have pixie style hoods that clip on, which are frankly just the most coolest thing.

It folds down really quite small – much smaller than a wrap for chucking in your bag.

It is really well made- with much nicer materials and much better craftpersonship then another, more well known, British producer of Mei Tais and Soft Structure Carriers whom I bought a pre-schooler sling from.

Here are some things I didn’t love:

I thought it was rather large. Juno only just fitted it at ten months old and it is meant to be from 6 months. It would be much better fitting for 12-18 month old baby. The body of it came up over Juno’s face unless I tied it with a double fold at the bottom.

I could only wear Juno it it for a couple of hours each day, where as I use my Ergo and Wraps for upwards of five hours a day. My back just didn’t like the Mei Tai that much- although, as I mentioned above this could be to do more with my back already adjusting to other carriers. Or perhaps I simply didn’t quite master the Mei Tai tying technique.

So, in conclusion, I would recommend Snugiwraps to people new to babywearing who want a beautiful, simple carrier for wearing their slightly older baby. And go for buckles and a hood!

Would love to hear your thoughts on Mei Tai’s vs other carriers.

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I am Lucy - a writer, mama, activist and vintage lover. (Especially nice old typewriters.) Welcome to the Hippyshake! Here you'll read about our yurt-in-NZ lifestyle, a bit of DIY, a splash of giving-up-shampoo stuff and a lot of free spirited parenting. Do stick around, I'll show you my typewriters...

9 Comments

I love wearing our 15month old in our mei tai- only other carrier I’ve used was a stretchy wrap when he was little but had to change when he got lovely and chunky!
Just decided to go with a mei tai and have loved it (and more importantly so does our son!)

Was thinking I would’ve upgraded to a more structured carrier by now but still loving this one! Will definitely have a lookey at snugiwraps- what age/weight do you think they can be used until? x

Love the comic strip print! I’ve been looking for awesome print slings and was struggling to find things that weren’t too twee.

I’ve been using an ergo for a while now, due to ease. Whereas I used a wrap sling all the time with my first (yonks ago). I think buckles are helpful with more than one child…Katy Beale recently posted…9/52

I love them all to be honest – wraps, buckles, ring slings, mei tais. More recently, I started using a Podaegi which is kind of like mei tai but without the waist band. It was great carrying toddler while pregnant and now I’m enjoying it with my newborn. They all have a place depending on what we’re up to (and what I’m wearing!). Love the print on your mei tai. I agree it’s good to be able to choose something more your style.Circus Queen recently posted…What I learned from a fire with a toddler – Paternity Leave Activity #4

Babywearing is one of my favourite things ever. Our five month old lounges around in a Caboo (a soft wrap hybrid) and a gorgeous Rose & Rebellion SSC, while my partner loves using the slightly more robust Ergo. Such a personal thing though innit? You are ‘wearing’ it after all. We’re lucky enough to have a fabulousso local sling library and would recommend to any one to see if they can try before they buy, to make sure their wrap/sling/carrier is right for them. Seriously money saving.Rachel (Roo Paprika) recently posted…Nobody puts Baby in a corner

I’ve loved using a combo of ring sling and ergo but lately finding the ergo a bit small for my 2.5 year old. now looking at the tula toddler carrier. has anyone used one? they look to be a bit bigger than the ergo and hopefully give a little more support. Loving following your NZ adventures Lucy, we’re moving back in a couple of months. Sarah

The Ergo was absolutely the best baby thing we ever got. I’ve used it almost constantly for the last 3.5 years and it’s made life so much easier!

I haven’t had a chance to try many other styles of sling-just a stretchy ring sling which I didn’t get on with at all. The only thing I would change about the Ergo is to have a bag or strap to keep it together when you don’t have a kid in it.Katy recently posted…Commisison – I love you, I know (The Golden Years)

Baby wearing is one of the best bits of motherhood for me. I’m not totally into it, I use a push chair just as much as my carriers but its nowhere near as lovely, easy or safe as carrying them.

Ive tried a wrap for when the babies were tiny, an MT and now sticking with the Ergo.
The wrap was fab and cosy once it was on but such a faff to tie.

The MT was comfy and my babies LOVED it, but I would end up swinging great lengths of fabric around which, when putting on when you’re out and about, always got covered in dirt and needed adjusting. I’d go for the clips next time round. My partner hated the MT as it was just to much hassle to tie. I often likened it to handling a deranged octopus.

With regards to the MT colours and fabric… mega easy to make a slip cover to cover the ‘body’s of the MT. Then you can change the look really easily and make it cosy in the winter by adding a fleece fabric!

The Ergo is relatively comfy, easy to put on and off and the babies are very happy. Love the pocket, the hood, the colours, padding so on. As someone else mentioned, I wish it had a transporting bag as its so chunky when not in use.
My partner is happy with it too.

But all in all any carrier is a really delight when you’ve got your sleepy munchkin all snuggled up safe and sound against you. Love it, love it, love it!

We wear all three of the children regularly (aged 4, 2 and 9 months) and the only one that seems to cope with all three is our wrap conversion mei tai. There’s something about being able to create a little butt hammock from the spread straps that makes even bigger children feel weightless.Tasha Batsford recently posted…At My Mother’s Table